What I learned About Myself While on an Italian Road Trip

June was filled with a boat load of traveling and a lot of self renewal and growth. I attended two weddings in Europe and experienced new Greek and Italian cities which was amazing! In the next couple of weeks I’ll share my healthy travel guides, but to start off the theme I want to talk about what I learned about myself while on an Italian road trip.

Rapello, Italy

I discovered that I can be completely confident wearing zero makeup: I’m in a country where I don’t know a soul except my boyfriend, and I am giving myself permission to be completely fearless and not wearing any makeup. My flaws on full display and I’m feeling free. Question: Why do we wear makeup? It makes us feel good, but sometimes we may wear cosmetics and dress up more for others than ourselves. I was able to embrace myself in natural form and loved it. So now I’m making a vow to wear less and less makeup while I’m at home (plus hello, who wouldn’t want their skin to breath more once in a while).

Florence, Italy

I was able to prioritize work more efficiently: I used to cram A LOT of work tasks into my day. I felt like no matter what I got done, there was always more to do. When I went on this vacation, I was forced to prioritize what tasks were more important vs. what could wait a couple days. This helped me get larger tasks done and focus on larger, big picture projects.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

I learned how to embrace the feeling of “indulging”: This happened especially in Italy, every restaurant around serves nothing but pasta n’ meat, pasta n’ meat. Well guess what, I ate that darn pasta n’ I tried some meat. GASP! I know! I’m usually plant-based I swear! Some of my friends laugh at me because when we are at foodie events and there is nothing but meat or seafood for a main dish, I’ll try it. I mean..I’m not gonna starve for the night. But, I definitely eat plant based at home when I have full control in the kitchen. The point is, I let myself indulge and enjoy local cuisine in different cultures because I wanted to seize the moment. I finally learned how to embrace that feeling of indulging without feeling guilty (I mean that’s what vacation is about). I balanced my indulgences by eating plant-based for breakfast and lunch and tasting local cuisine at night, and walking around cities – a lot. I also packed a lot of healthy snacks from home that I had stashed in a bag for when we would drive from city to city. Things like: fruit, Wild Garden Hummus packets, nuts, avocado, and Jolly Oak granola packets. Taking this trip helped me loosen up when it came to indulgences. Funny side note: when I got home people actually said I looked like I LOST weight – so hmph!

Portofino, Italy

I grew my relationship by being in silence, and learned that being silent daily can have major benefits: Since a good portion of the euro trip was on the road, there was obviously a lot of driving….and a lot of silence. Not only was the silence a wonderful way for me to rest mentally and enjoy the surrounding scenery, it also connected me with my boyfriend on a somewhat deeper level. In a strange way, it felt as if I was on a solo wanderlust adventure vacation during the road trip yet I wasn’t alone. There have been studies before explaining the benefits of being able to be in silence with your significant other and how it can enhance your bond. It was nice to put this to the test and reap the benefits – now I make a point of having evenings of silence with my beau to keep this trend going!

What great and inspiring things have you learned about yourself on your last vacation?